Kidsignments Returns To Gwinnett Fairgrounds With Safety First

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — The annual Kidsignments consignment sale is back again this week at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds — a month later than usual and with COVID-19 safety protocols in place.

Billed on its website as “one of the nation’s largest consignment events,” Kidsignments offers high-quality gently used items for infants, children and teens, with prices increasingly discounted the longer items stay on the racks.

Among the goods offered are clothing, toys, strollers, children’s furniture and books of all kinds.

Jeri Lynn Cunningham of Grayson, who’s run the sale for 26 years, said the coronavirus almost killed Kidsignments in 2020. In fact, in June, when COVID-19 numbers were starting to spike, she and her husband nearly decided to cancel the event.

Two things had to happen to save the sale, Cunningham said: Georgia’s COVID-19 numbers had to drop, and room had to be made at the fairgrounds a month later than usual so the sale could be staged safely.

Kidsignments normally is held in August, when the numbers did start to drop. And when the Gwinnett County Fair cancelled for 2020, that opened the fairgrounds for the event.

Cunningham said that although only about 1,000 sellers are participating this year — two thirds of normal — foot traffic so far seemed comparable to previous years.

The real test, she added, will come when the sale concludes this weekend.

For safety’s sake, all shoppers are required to mask up and have their hands sanitized before entering the building. Building occupancy is limited, and check-out stations are sheathed in cellophane to shield both clerks and buyers. Also, all goods were sanitized before being allowed in, and the exhibit hall is sanitized nightly after closing.

The sale is open Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Some items will be discounted 25 percent on Wednesday, 30 percent on Thursday, 40 percent on Friday and 50 percent on Saturday, Kidsignment’s final day.

For more information, go to www.kidsignments.com.